Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8

2 Parenting Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices

By National Academy of Sciences, 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK402020/

DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN

Child outcomes are interconnected within and across diverse domains of development. They result from and are enhanced by early positive and supportive interactions with parents and other caregivers. These early interactions can have a long-lasting ripple effect on development across the life course, whereby the function of one domain of development influences another domain over time. In the words of Masten and Cicchetti (2010, p. 492), “effectiveness in one domain of competence in one period of life becomes the scaffold on which later competence in newly emerging domains develops . . . competence begets competence.”

Physical Health and Safety

Children need to be cared for in a way that promotes their ability to thrive and ensures their survival and protection from injury and physical and sexual maltreatment. While such safety needs are important for all children, they are especially critical for young children, who typically lack the individual resources required to avoid dangers (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000). Rather, young children rely on parents and other primary caregivers, inside and outside the home, to act on their behalf to protect their safety and healthy development (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015). At the most basic level, children must receive the care, as reflected in a number of emotional and physiological protections, necessary to meet normative standards for growth and physical development, such as guidelines for healthy weight and receipt of recommended vaccinations (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015). Physical health and safety are fundamental for achieving all of the other outcomes described below.

Emotional and Behavioral Competence

Children need care that promotes positive emotional health and well-being and that supports their overall mental health, including a positive sense of self, as well as the ability to cope with stressful situations, temper emotional arousal, overcome fears, and accept disappointments and frustrations. Parents and other caregivers are essential resources for children in managing emotional arousal, coping, and managing behavior. They serve in this role by providing positive affirmations, conveying love and respect and engendering a sense of security. Provision of support by parents helps minimize the risk of internalizing behaviors, such as those associated with anxiety and depression, which can impair children's adjustment and ability to function well at home, at school, and in the community (Osofsky and Fitzgerald, 2000). Such symptoms as extreme fearfulness, helplessness, hopelessness, apathy, depression, and withdrawal are indicators of emotional difficulty that have been observed among very young children who experience inadequate parental care (Osofsky and Fitzgerald, 2000).

Social Competence

Children who possess basic social competence are able to develop and maintain positive relationships with peers and adults (Semrud-Clikeman, 2007). Social competence, which is intertwined with other areas of development (e.g., cognitive, physical, emotional, and linguistic), also may include children's ability to get along with and respect others, such as those of a different race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or economic background (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015). Basic social skills include a range of prosocial behaviors, such as empathy and concern for the feelings of others, cooperation, sharing, and perspective taking, all of which are positively associated with children's success both in school and in nonacademic settings and can be fostered by parents and other caregivers (Durlak et al., 2011; Fantuzzo et al., 2007). These skills are associated with children's future success across a wide range of contexts in adulthood (e.g., school, work, family life) (Elias, 2006; Fantuzzo et al., 2007).

Cognitive Competence

Cognitive competence encompasses the skills and capacities needed at each age and stage of development to succeed in school and in the world at large. Children's cognitive competence is defined by skills in language and communication, as well as reading, writing, mathematics, and problem solving. Children benefit from stimulating, challenging, and supportive environments in which to develop these skills, which serve as a foundation for healthy self-regulatory practices and modes of persistence required for academic success (Gottfried, 2013).

PARENTING KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES

The term “knowledge” for the purposes of this report refers to facts, information, and skills gained through experience or education and understanding of an issue or phenomenon. “Attitudes” refers to viewpoints, perspectives, reactions, or settled ways of thinking about aspects of parenting or child development, including parents' roles and responsibilities. Attitudes may be related to cultural beliefs founded in common experience. And “practices” refers to parenting behaviors or approaches to childrearing that can shape how a child develops. Generally speaking, knowledge relates to cognition, attitudes relate to motivation, and practices relate to ways of engaging or behavior, but all three may emanate from a common source.

Summary

• The committee identified several parenting practices that are associated with improvements in the four domains introduced at the beginning of this chapter (physical health and safety, emotional and behavioral competence, social competence, and cognitive competence): — contingent responsiveness (serve and return); — showing warmth and sensitivity; — routines and reduced household chaos; — shared book reading and talking to children; —practices related to promoting children's health and safety—in particular, receipt of prenatal care, breastfeeding, vaccination, ensuring children's adequate nutrition and physical activity, monitoring, and household/vehicle safety; and —use of appropriate (less harsh) discipline.

Our thoughts

This is a weighty reading. However, the emperical evidence shows that parents who engage in ongoing parental learning have significant benefits to our children. What is particularly important is our attitiudes to learning. Remember, every day is a school day. It doesn't matter how old you are.